Ten easy study techniques

April 7, 2015

Should we go back to basic study skills before focusing on higher-order skills like critical thinking?

Findings from cognitive psychology, as described in our last blog, do suggest that some simple techniques like quizzing yourself and spacing practice help learning. Effective learners have a good store of existing organised knowledge, as well as metacognitive learning strategies, such as organising, inference and elaboration - making connections with other concepts and ideas, and relating new information to prior knowledge via drawing diagrams.

The case for teaching students ten "easy to learn" techniques is made in this 2013 paper "Improving student learning with effective study techniques", which are:

Elaborative interrogation & questioning

Explain relationships or steps taken

Write summaries

Highlight/underline

Keyword mnemonic

Imagery for text

Re-study

Test yourself or take practice tests

Spread out study activities over time

Break up practice.

It won me over, and it's backed up by comprehensive review of 100 years of cognitive psychology into this area.